Darlings At Eleven
by RenaYumi
Summary: "Daddy says I'm five steps ahead of my feet." She reached up to straighten her bow again. "Only four," Ulrich said with a grin.


_**Darlings At Eleven**_

**Team Rena! Haha, seriously though, I lost another challenge to Kitty and couldn't go empty handed, so I pulled this out of the vault. Hope you enjoy!**

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><em>He<em> would not cry. He would not stand here in front of these gates of this strange school and cry in front of all these kids, oh and they were so tall, that didn't even know his name. He would not be that kid.

"Ulrich sweetie, are you sure you'll be alright? Should we go with you to the office to get your dorm assignment?" The woman hovering above him, and hovering was right word for it, wrung her hands wearily. "Maybe we should have waited one more year, Drew."

"Mom, I'll be fine," the brunette whined, backpack hanging off his shoulder, eyes wandering the campus.

"Elaine, leave the poor boy alone. He'll be home in three months for Christmas and he's in a school. Besides, he's a Stern. We cope well." The woman elbowed her husband.

"Andrew," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Bye guys." Ulrich started down the sidewalk towards the office building.

"Bye sweetie! We love you! Make sure to call! Your bags are already in your room, and - and," Andrew wrapped an arm around the frantic mother's shoulders.

"Calm down, Elaine," he laughed.  
><em><br>_His dorm was up two flights of stairs and down the hall. When he opened the door after some effort and struggle with the key, there was some strange blonde passed out in the second bed already. Ulrich decided not to stay in the room as originally planned, and opted instead to explore his new home.

Kadic's campus was huge to a eleven year old. It felt like an hour's walk to the student commons at the back of the school, but the area was littered with students. His eyes searched for a friendly face, someone familiar, but he was miles from home and he knew it. His friends were in Germany and he was in France.

Eyes and attention wandering, he didn't notice the girl in front of him until it was too late.

"Oof!" He fell to the ground in a heap.

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" He looked up to see a petite, dark haired girl, with her yellow bow askew, and dressed in a yellow sundress. Her hands covered her mouth as she scrambled to get off the ground. "Are you ok? Ow! I'm such a klutz! I swear I'll never make a single friend."

"My fault," he managed as he stood up.

"No, no! I wasn't watching. Daddy says- oh no! That's what I was doing!" She straitened her bow, face flush and searching the campus. Ulrich brushed off his pants, eyeing the girl carefully.

"Uh.. I'm Ulrich by the way." She locked her eyes back on him, blushed, and proceeded to stare at her feet.

"I'm… I'm Elizabeth. It's very nice to meet you, but I need to find my father." Ulrich straightened up.

"Is he around front at the drop off point?' The girl giggled, hair falling around her shoulders.

"No silly! He's the principal." Elizabeth started walking towards the office building. "Uhm, are you coming?" Ulrich hesitated for a second.

"S-sure!" He ran the few steps between them to catch up.

"I'm eleven," Elizabeth said proudly as she led the way. Ulrich followed close behind, in a slightly better mood than when he arrived.

"Me too."

"Maybe we'll have classes together!" The girl spun on her heel to face him and began walking backwards. "That would be awesome!" The boy laughed.

"Yeah, that would be- watch!" Too late to warn her, Elizabeth tripped over a loose branch and tumbled back to the ground.

"Oh not again! See? I told you I'm a klutz." He couldn't hide it; Ulrich broke out into a fit of giggles that he couldn't hide no matter how hard he tried. Elizabeth turned a new shade of red, averting her eyes. He held out a hand.

"Let me help you up. Maybe you should look where you're going." She took his hand and pulled herself up.

"Daddy says I'm five steps ahead of my feet." She reached up to straighten her bow again.

"Only four," Ulrich said with a grin. Elizabeth laughed arms wrapped around her stomach.

"You're funny. Come on!" The girl was off and running yet again. Ulrich trailed behind her, oblivious to where they were going or who, exactly, this girl was, but it didn't matter; he'd made a new friend. Maybe Kadic wasn't so hopeless after all. 


End file.
